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Should I Stay or Should I Go? Dispersal and Population Structure in Small, Isolated Desert Populations of West African Crocodiles
The maintenance of both spatial and genetic connectivity is paramount to the long-term persistence of small, isolated populations living in environments with extreme climates. We aim to identify the distribution of genetic diversity and assess population sub-structuring and dispersal across dwarfed...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2014
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3989217/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24740183 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094626 |
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author | Velo-Antón, Guillermo Godinho, Raquel Campos, João Carlos Brito, José Carlos |
author_facet | Velo-Antón, Guillermo Godinho, Raquel Campos, João Carlos Brito, José Carlos |
author_sort | Velo-Antón, Guillermo |
collection | PubMed |
description | The maintenance of both spatial and genetic connectivity is paramount to the long-term persistence of small, isolated populations living in environments with extreme climates. We aim to identify the distribution of genetic diversity and assess population sub-structuring and dispersal across dwarfed desert populations of Crocodylus suchus, which occur in isolated groups, usually less than five individuals, along the mountains of Mauritania (West Africa). We used both invasive and non-invasive sampling methods and a combination of mitochondrial DNA (12 S and ND4) and microsatellite markers (32 loci and a subset of 12 loci). Our results showed high genetic differentiation and geographic structure in Mauritanian populations of C. suchus. We identified a metapopulation system acting within four river sub-basins (high gene flow and absence of genetic structure) and considerable genetic differentiation between sub-basins (F (ST) range: 0.12–0.24) with rare dispersal events. Effective population sizes tend to be low within sub-basins while genetic diversity is maintained. Our study suggests that hydrographic networks (temporal connections along seasonal rivers during rainy periods) allow C. suchus to disperse and maintain metapopulation dynamics within sub-basins, which attenuate the loss of genetic diversity and the risk of extinction. We highlight the need of hydrographic conservation to protect vulnerable crocodiles isolated in small water bodies. We propose C. suchus as an umbrella species in Mauritania based on ecological affinities shared with other water-dependent species in desert environments. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-3989217 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2014 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-39892172014-04-21 Should I Stay or Should I Go? Dispersal and Population Structure in Small, Isolated Desert Populations of West African Crocodiles Velo-Antón, Guillermo Godinho, Raquel Campos, João Carlos Brito, José Carlos PLoS One Research Article The maintenance of both spatial and genetic connectivity is paramount to the long-term persistence of small, isolated populations living in environments with extreme climates. We aim to identify the distribution of genetic diversity and assess population sub-structuring and dispersal across dwarfed desert populations of Crocodylus suchus, which occur in isolated groups, usually less than five individuals, along the mountains of Mauritania (West Africa). We used both invasive and non-invasive sampling methods and a combination of mitochondrial DNA (12 S and ND4) and microsatellite markers (32 loci and a subset of 12 loci). Our results showed high genetic differentiation and geographic structure in Mauritanian populations of C. suchus. We identified a metapopulation system acting within four river sub-basins (high gene flow and absence of genetic structure) and considerable genetic differentiation between sub-basins (F (ST) range: 0.12–0.24) with rare dispersal events. Effective population sizes tend to be low within sub-basins while genetic diversity is maintained. Our study suggests that hydrographic networks (temporal connections along seasonal rivers during rainy periods) allow C. suchus to disperse and maintain metapopulation dynamics within sub-basins, which attenuate the loss of genetic diversity and the risk of extinction. We highlight the need of hydrographic conservation to protect vulnerable crocodiles isolated in small water bodies. We propose C. suchus as an umbrella species in Mauritania based on ecological affinities shared with other water-dependent species in desert environments. Public Library of Science 2014-04-16 /pmc/articles/PMC3989217/ /pubmed/24740183 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094626 Text en © 2014 Velo-Antón, et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Velo-Antón, Guillermo Godinho, Raquel Campos, João Carlos Brito, José Carlos Should I Stay or Should I Go? Dispersal and Population Structure in Small, Isolated Desert Populations of West African Crocodiles |
title | Should I Stay or Should I Go? Dispersal and Population Structure in Small, Isolated Desert Populations of West African Crocodiles |
title_full | Should I Stay or Should I Go? Dispersal and Population Structure in Small, Isolated Desert Populations of West African Crocodiles |
title_fullStr | Should I Stay or Should I Go? Dispersal and Population Structure in Small, Isolated Desert Populations of West African Crocodiles |
title_full_unstemmed | Should I Stay or Should I Go? Dispersal and Population Structure in Small, Isolated Desert Populations of West African Crocodiles |
title_short | Should I Stay or Should I Go? Dispersal and Population Structure in Small, Isolated Desert Populations of West African Crocodiles |
title_sort | should i stay or should i go? dispersal and population structure in small, isolated desert populations of west african crocodiles |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3989217/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24740183 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094626 |
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